Year in Review: After failing to take advantage of his opportunity with a full-time job in 2008, Barton began last year in the minors. He got a chance to play regularly in Oakland during the second half of the season after the A’s released Jason Giambi. When Barton returned from a hamstring injury that cost him over a month, he put up a .302/.389/.437 line in his final 149 plate appearances. In his disappointing 2008, Barton posted a .272 BABIP. Last year he finished with a .303 mark in the category. His .343 wOBA was fourth on the club among players with at least 100 at-bats. One of Barton’s strengths throughout his professional career has been his patience at the plate. Last year in Oakland he had a 13.5 BB% and a 1.04 BB/K ratio, which was easily the best mark on the team.

The Year Ahead: Barton gets another crack at the starting job at the beginning of 2010. The A’s traded top prospect Brett Wallace, who was acquired last season in the Matt Holliday deal for outfielder Michael Taylor. Wallace was nominally a third baseman, but everyone figured his eventual position would be at first. While that was good news for Barton, he still faces a challenge from Chris Carter, one of the top prospects in all of baseball and the MVP of the Double-A Texas League last season. Carter figures to start 2010 in Triple-A, but another slow start by Barton could be his ticket to the minors. Meanwhile, the end of 2009 shows exactly what Barton can deliver – a high OBP and below-average slugging percentage. He is never going to be a big power threat – last year’s combined 13 home runs between the Majors and minors tied a career high – but Barton should be able to beat last year’s 4.5% HR/FB mark in the big leagues and provide more bombs than expected. (Brian Joura)

Profile: This past season was a huge improvement for Daric Barton over his last full season, in 2008. A prototypical Oakland player, Barton is not nearly as big a fantasy star as he is in real life. Almost all of Barton’s value comes from solid defense and his ability to get on base. If your fantasy league uses OBP then Barton can be a high-value target, but in the standard 5x5 categories, Barton offers little. His average sits below .300 and he does not hit home runs nor steal any bases. He will have a full-time job, but Oakland is not a powerful offense and so you should project his runs scored and batted-in totals to be less than enthralling, as well. (Matthew Carruth)

The Quick Opinion: Every Oakland player profiles the same. They should have their own fantasy league where UZR and OBP are the only two categories. Barton does well there, but poorly elsewhere.

Profile: One year after posting a .393 OBP, Barton found himself back in Triple-A at midseason in 2011, unable to repeat his success. His one primary skill -- drawing walks and getting on-base -- has limited value in fantasy, even in OBP leagues. A first baseman needs to bring power and run production to the table, and Barton has never topped 13 homers in a single season, majors or minors. He's proven to be a bit of a fly ball hitter in his 1,765 plate appearances with the Athletics (just 36.5% grounders), but the ballpark in Oakland just eats up anything less than a mammoth blast. That said, Barton's isolated slugging percentage is just .145 on the road and .159 in the minors, so there doesn't appear to be much untapped potential in there. The Athletics have a glut of first base/designated hitter types, guys who can both hit for power and get on base, so Barton is going to have to take some major step forwards in short order next season. Until he does, he's not worth a fantasy roster spot, especially not at first base. (Mike Axisa)

The Quick Opinion: The on-base numbers are fantastic, but first baseman who can't hit for power are close to useless in fantasy leagues. The Athletics other first base/designated hitter types could force Barton out of the picture early next season, too.

Profile: Daric Barton was buried on the first base depth chart behind the platoon that is Brandon Moss and Chris Carter, until the trade that landed Jed Lowrie opened up a possible spot for Barton. Now it seems like Barton might get some time versus lefties and as the late-inning defensive replacement at first base, but that doesn't carry a ton of fantasy value, and we all know that his upside is not very fantasy-friendly anyway. (David Wiers)

Profile: Remember back in 2010, when Barton hit .273/.393/.405 and was nearly a five-win player? Since then, he's seen more time in Triple-A than he has in the majors. The 28-year-old is strictly a first baseman, and doesn't have the pop to be relevant in even deep AL-only leagues; he's hit just four home runs in his last 536 major-league plate appearances dating back to 2011. (Scott Strandberg)

The Quick Opinion: Pushing Barton even further into irrelevancy is the question of whether he has a spot on the major-league team. With Brandon Moss and Nate Freiman around, it's entirely possible Barton starts off 2014 back in Triple-A.

Profile: The once highly touted prospect — he rated in Baseball America's top 100 four straight seasons — has continued to fail to produce. Barton's on-base percentage is tolerable, however his poor power for a first baseman torpedoes his value. (David Wiers)